EXCLUSIVE CASE STUDY COLLEGE'S SECURITY IS CENTER OF ATTENTION
Long known for the magnitude of its academics and enrollment, North Carolina's Central Piedmont Community College now lays claim to an equally remarkable security solution. Learn how the nation's fourth-largest such school is creating a safer environment by centralizing control of video surveillance, access control and more across seven campuses. by Scott Goldfi ne
he 2007 shooting massacre at Virginia Tech that left 32 dead and 17 wounded shocked and horrifi ed the entire nation — but perhaps
nowhere more so than just down the interstate in Charlotte. It is there in neighboring North Carolina's largest city where many future Virginia Tech students emanate and alumni establish their careers. It is also where Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), the state's largest such institution, has educated knowledge seekers since 1963. "Let's be realistic, everyone is reacting to Virginia
Tech. I think in the last week there have been fi ve bomb threats to colleges,
" says Aaron Alexander, owner of integrator Security 101's Charlotte branch. 50 / SECURITYSALES.COM / NOVEMBER 2012
"Colleges now realize they have to be more proactive versus reactive. When parents are choosing a college for their children, there's no doubt security is a concern." To ensure inquiring minds stay focused on scholarly pursuits
and bodies out of harm's way, CPCC stakeholders have green-lit the comprehensive upgrading of security systems throughout the campus. "T ere was a need determined by security and senior
management that the school needed to be secured," says CPCC Executive Director of Technology Infrastructure Systems Patrick Dugan. "T is site sits in downtown Charlotte and so we have a lot of through-traffi c, which makes it a high-risk area. We also have outlying campuses that sit in neighborhoods that have some issues.
Security 101 was signed on as part of a phased undertaking valued at more than $500,000 that was to include video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, emergency
"